Pallet sizes, to scale

The standard pallet in North America is 48 x 40 inches (1,219 x 1,016 mm), about 5.5 to 6 inches high and 33 to 49 lb empty. Five other sizes turn up on Jacksonville docks, each tied to a kind of freight.

Box counts are pallets on the floor, single stacked, from the container planner; a 40 ft high cube takes the same floor count as a standard 40.

No single standard

No universally accepted standard for pallet dimensions exists, and the GMA organization no longer governs pallet specifications. The GMA pallet of the 1960s was a 48 by 40 inch platform with four-way entry, and ISO accepts those dimensions as the North American standard (iGPS). Plants still run their own sizes, so a request should state the size.

• Length first, then width: 48 x 40 is not 40 x 48.
• Say which direction the stringers run.
• Write inches or millimetres, not a trade nickname: "48s" invites a 48 x 40, and Euro alone can mean several variants.

A GMA pallet typically weighs 37 lb and stands 6½ in tall. Standard wood pallets weigh 33 to 49 lb unloaded and reinforced ones 55 to 66 lb, and they carry 2,000 to 2,800 lb moving and 2,500 to 4,600 lb at rest (Mecalux). The 48x40 page covers the standard size in full.

48 x 45: automotive

The 48 x 45 is the size listed for the automotive industry and ranks 7th in North American production. JAXPORT moved 506,237 vehicles in fiscal year 2025, against 509,091 in fiscal year 2024 (Florida Auditor). Cars come in on ships, but parts and processing equipment travel on pallets, and marketplace listings show 48 x 45 cores moving in ZIPs 32210 and 32218.

The five extra inches of width cost two pallets in a 40 ft box. Auto lines often run both sizes, so a mixed stack of 48 x 40 and 48 x 45 cores is normal, and a five inch error jams automated racking: say which size each pallet is, not just "48 by something". Grade B is usual for parts freight, Grade A for painted or clean goods.

48 x 42: chemical and beverage

Fifth in North American production, the 48 x 42 looks like a 48 x 40 until it meets a rack bay. Two side by side take 2,134 mm of a container's 2,330 mm inside width, so the box count matches the 48 x 40. Beverage lines and chemical packers use it, which here means freight through Duval County, including the Northside around Imeson.

A bottle or drum layout that fills a 42-inch width gains stability from it, and cutting two inches off leaves outer containers hanging over the edge, where wrapping and moving damage them. A pallet two inches off is also the usual reason a load gets turned back at a receiving dock, and 48x42 and 48x40 share a rack only if the beam spacing allows the extra width.

42 x 42: square beverage pallets

A square pallet takes a case pattern that rotates cleanly, which bottle and can lines favour, and a driver loading a box can turn it without caring which side is long. It takes about 8% less floor than a 48 x 40, which is why a 40 ft box holds more of them, but the saving disappears if cases overhang the pallet.

Beverage is among the industries Duval County lists. A distributor running 42 x 42 wants the same size back every week, with a flat deck and no protruding nails to catch cases, and racks built for it use a different beam span: a square pallet in the wrong rack falls through or sits unsupported. Write both dimensions, since it is easily mistaken for a 48 x 40.

48 x 48: drums and bulk bags

At 1,219 mm a side, a 48 x 48 fits once across a container's inside width with 1,111 mm left over, so it gives the lowest box count of any size here; for an export buyer that changes the freight bill. Drum and bagged chemical freight, bulk bags and heavy products want its square base, which spreads weight evenly and bends less under a point load. Nassau County rail-served plants and Clay County riverfront industry are the likeliest local users.

• Block or stringer: heavy drums often call for block.
• Deck coverage, since bags sag between spaced boards.
• Load rating, static and dynamic.
• Racking beams that span the 48-inch side.

800 x 1200 mm: the Euro pallet

About 31.5 x 47.2 inches, the Euro pallet is the base of European freight and arrives here under imports through Blount Island, Dames Point and Talleyrand, often in a mixed stack where dock staff mis-sort it as an odd 48x40. Two turned the short way fit across a container at 1,600 mm, so mixed orientation fills the floor better than a 48 x 40 manages.

Many Euro pallets belong to a pool: one with an EPAL mark is controlled by its owner, so check markings before counting it as surplus (see pooled pallets). For export, spell out 800 x 1200 mm and say whether it needs the ISPM 15 mark and four-way entry.

Choosing a size

The racking decides first, then the container, then the load. If the dock is racked for 48x40, the answer is 48x40. If the freight leaves in boxes, check the count in the planner. If the product is a heavy square drum, the 48x48 or 42x42 may suit. Grade and treatment follow the size, and ISPM 15 treatment is separate from it.

Mixed sizes in one stack

A pile of mixed sizes is hard to resell, so sorting by size is the first job when clearing a dock. A tape measure settles most arguments: measure the stringer length and the deck width, not the overall width, and record both.

Questions

Keep reading

• 48 x 40

Sources, reviewed 12 November 2026: Pallet (Wikipedia); Pallet dimensions (PHS); GMA pallet (Mecalux); JAXPORT FY2025 report.